Siete notas en negro

It's nice when the main character of the giallo you're watching receives all their clues in one huge psychic download five minutes into the film.

Psychic lady, who has already remotely viewed her mother's suicide when she was a child (the only truly gory bit of the film), gets her vision when driving away from the airport after dropping off her new hubby (the always great and glary Gianni Garko of I Am Sartana, I will Kick Your Arse fame).

From then on out it's up to psychic lady to figure out all the clues. Who has she witnessed being murdered and walled up? Why doesn't her vision add up to police evidence? Who done it? It's difficult to review gialli without ruining them so I'll stop there.

I've seen this reviewed as Fulci's best film and his best Giallo, but personally I'd rate Lizard In A Woman's Skin higher (it's more surreal for starters). I would put in on a par with Don't Torture A Duckling though - I was glued to the screen. This man had talent at this point in his career.

Next up: Ghosts of Sodom. I'm thinking the next review won't be so glowing.

... Actually it is not exactly an horror movie, but rather more a thriller (or, better, a giallo). Visionary, tense, well acted (& dubbed), nice locations (villas, interiors, landscapes, cars, etc.), care to costumes and details, a nice 7 notes tune... it is a truly enjoyable little gem from the (not enough) celebrated Italian gore maestro. The plot itself, assuming it is possible to have such supernatural powers, develops convincingly and without too many disgusting bloody scenes . In some points (the visions, particularly the reversed statue) I had the feeling that Kubrick in Shining (1980) might have stolen something (MURDER...). Will it be possible? Oh, I was forgetting, the actress (O neill) is wonderful, and Ferzetti (Once upon in the West, On Her Majesty's Secret Service) is playing as well. 8.5/10 Well done Lucio!

"The Psychic" is probably one of Fulci's most plot-based movies. It also is fairly restrained; it is surprising that this was not issued a PG-13 rating. The only real gore was in the beginning of the movie when a woman falls off a cliff. Her face is shown hitting the side of the cliff repeatedly. Don't let the lack of gore stop you from renting this, though, because this movie is well worth it.

The story is as follows: A clairvoyant of sorts has a vision of a murder taking place in the house in which she lives. She then digs a skeleton out of the wall of the house. She calls the police, who in turn arrest her husband, the longtime owner of the house. In attempts to get her husband out of jail, she tries piecing together what happened based on her vision. It should be noted that the major plot twists are given away on the back of the box, so avoid reading it if surprise is wanted.

"The Psychic" is one of Fulci's few technically competent movies, containing few plot holes and a great storyline. Unfortunately, the same can not be said about the dialogue, which is subpar, and the quality, which takes away from the movie's viewing experience. Also, the first half of the movie drags, but luckily things pick up for the second half. Be sure to listen for the tune in the watch; it starts out like the theme song to "Zombie!"

This is an enjoyable movie for all audiences. My rating: 7 out of 10.

The Psychic finds Italian film-maker Lucio Fulci in a decidedly more restrained mood. Never a director to shy away from excessive sex and violence, this entry in his cannon is far more an exercise in suspense with a real focus on presenting an interesting mystery. There is an early scene where a character falls off a cliff resulting in their face being bloodily shredded by rocks as they fall - basically a scene repeated from Fulci's earlier giallo classic Don't Torture a Duckling (1972) – but apart from this, there is no real excessive blood-letting at all. The story is essentially about a psychic woman who experiences premonitions about mysterious murders, before long she finds herself in the midst of a dangerous situation.

The atmosphere of this one generates a real sense of dread. This is mainly on account of the quite distinctively structured mystery that underpins the story-line. The mixing of visions of the past and events yet to come was clever. It means that there is a real sense of intrigue to this one, with lots of visual clues thrown at us that progressively make sense, while often setting us off to entirely the wrong conclusion. It's a jigsaw puzzle of a movie and this is a very nice touch. Because it came quite late in the giallo cycle I guess it was for this reason that it adopted a more original approach, mixing the standard tropes of the genre with a supernatural angle. Whatever the case, this is one of the better written and thought out story-lines from the sub-genre and what it lacks in visceral excess it does make up for with a well-conceived mystery. It benefits too from a good leading lady in Jennifer O'Neill who later starred in David Cronenberg's excellent sci-fi/horror Scanners (1981). In addition it also features a Goblinesque score which was another nice touch.

This is a scary and intriguing film with a twisted plot , plenty of grisly killings , relentles suspense , ghastly mystery , astonishing images , gory events and well staged murders. A psychic woman (Jennifer O'Neil) discovers a skeleton in a wall in her husband's house , and seeks to find the truth about what occurred to the victim . Along with her psychiatrist friend (Marc Porel) , she seeks to find out the truth about who the person was and who put her there . Meanwhile her suspect husband (Gianni Garco) is imprisoned accused for killing . Early rare deeds begin to happen to them , as she along with husband's sister (Evelyn Stewart) start investigating , discovering weird characters (Gabriele Ferzetti) and tragic murders . Soon enough, she begins realizing the possibility that she may share the victim's fate . Suddenly she could see into the future...and saw her own murder...Suddenly and without warning it's tomorrow... and you're dead.

Chilling Italian terror flick full of screams , chills, thrills , twists and turns .This is an alright Giallo where intrigue , tension , suspense appear threatening and lurking in grim mansions , in every room , corridors and luxurious houses , as well as exteriors , and with numerous suspicious people . The main premise results to be to guess who's the killer among a lot of suspect people . A properly creepy Giallo movie fully of thrills , chills , suspense and frightening happenings , particularly when our starring -who attempts to alter the killing prediction- is mercilessly chased by a mysterious murderer . These Giallo movies are characterized by overblown use of color with shining red blood , usual zooms , originally staged crimes with seemingly fascination by razors and knifes , use of images-shock and a lot of plot twists . Being the principal representatives of this sub-genre : Riccardo Freda , Mario Bava , Dario Argento and Lucio Fulci . Stars the beautiful Jennifer O'Neil , recent her successful Summer 42 , here plays well a psychic who inspired by a vision, smashes open a section of wall in her husband's home and finds a skeleton behind it . Gorgeous Jennifer O'Neil is well accompanied by a fine support cast, such as : Gabriele Ferzetti , Marc Porel , Gianni Garko who acted in a lot of Spahetti westerns as well as Bruno Corazzari , Jenny Tamburi who performed various Sex Comedy and Evelyn Stewart who starred several Giallos.

Colorful and adequate cinematography by cameraman Sergio Salvati who photographed splendidly interior and outdoors . This photographer to get the best sightseeing by adequate filming , using nice cameras to capture the flavor of urban . Eerie musical score composed and conducted by Walter Rizzati, as Frizzi, Fulci's regular , and composing in Goblin style . The motion picture was compellingly directed by Luccio Fulci who makes of it pretty eerie and chilly . The motion picture was made by one of the most controversial filmmakers of terror movies , here Lucio Fulci shoots in his usual style with flaws and gaps but being professionally made because he was a skilled craftsman . Reviewers are divided over booth the morals and talents of Fulci (1927-1996) who sometimes directed under the alias ¨Louis Fuller¨. For some critics many of his movies are cruel and shockingly violent, yet their gory surface often conceals religious, social commentaries or intelligent issues. Whether he should be viewed as a cheap sensationalist or just a genius Fulci has a loyal fan base and undeniably has an important and unique influence on the terror genre , creating great works on a medium/low budget such as proved in ¨The black cat¨, ¨Demonia¨, ¨Voices from beyond¨, ¨Manhattan baby¨, ¨Gates of Hell¨, ¨The Beyond¨, ¨Island of the living dead¨, ¨Zombie 3¨ , ¨New York ripper¨ , ¨Don't torture a duckling¨ , among them . This Giallo that tried to disguised itself under many other titles will appeal to Lucio Fulci aficionados , being essential and indispensable watching for their fans . Rating : 7/10 . Better than average Giallo from Fulci .